Municipal Waste Management and Dubai's Arising Problem of Landfill Disposal

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Table of Contents

Lanfill diposal as the main waste management system in Dubai………………………………....1

The constraints and barriers causing Dubai to resort to landfills for dumping its municipality waste:-

Human development and culture as a barrier to the development of waste management systems in Dubai……………………………………………………………………..........3

Other possible constraints to the required development……………………………...…..5

Significance of Topic…………………………………………………………………………...…8

Steps taken for the development of Dubai's existing waste management system:- Dubai's initiatives in prevention and recycling…………………………………………...............8

Alternative treatment and disposal technologies………………………………………….……..11

Required efforts and action plan by stakeholders………………………………………………..14

Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………….16

Conclusion and Suggestions……………………………………………………………………..18

References……………………………………………………………………………………….19

Landfill disposal as the main waste management system in Dubai

Issues negatively affecting many aspects ranging from environment to human health for countries of the Middle East region are still being caused by inadequate waste management systems. Meanwhile, a variety of public/private organizations in the waste management sector are searching (usually independent of each other) for social, technical and financial solutions (Holmes 2004); But trials to set up an integrated, sustainable waste management system are achieving slow progress, even in one of the most developed cities of the Middle East, Dubai. More municipal waste landfill management is required for the emirate of Dubai to reduce the harm they are causing and also alternatives landfills should be started at the soonest.

Most of Dubai's municipality waste is dumped untreated into enclosed landfills, according to the 2011 annual congress report; more than 97% of Dubai's waste is disposed in landfills and about 75% of the waste management facilities in Dubai are landfills (Rashed 2011), when landfills should be the last resort of waste management within a government such as that of Dubai, which is considered to be a developed urban city in many other aspects (Rashed 2011). Not to mention that the municipality waste generated by the city of Dubai is growing fast with the on-going development of the city making this is an arising problem (“The emirate of Dubai generates more that 10,000 tones of general waste per day and the figure is on the rise year by year, say municipality officials”) (Gulf news 2010).

Damages from dumping municipality waste into landfills are numerous, the damage can range from infrastructure, such as access roads by heavy waste transport vehicles, to the pollution of the surrounding environment, such as contamination of groundwater by leakage and residual soil contamination during landfill usage and even after landfill closure; Also, the most noticed (smelled) by passers is the methane gas generated by decaying organic wastes (methane is a greenhouse gas which is much more intoxicating than carbon dioxide, and is a danger to residents of neighbouring areas) (Tampa 2011) ; all that harbors disease vectors such as rats and flies, particularly from improperly operated landfills. Furthermore, injuries to wildlife, alongside dust and noise pollution are just simple problems caused by landfill dumping of municipal waste and the list is increases steadily as time passes. The city government of Dubai has landfills at five different locations in the Emirate. There are three systems, only municipal waste is sent to landfill. A site is designated for construction debris, treated as hazardous waste in the Jebel Ali Hazardous ...